Be like water - Blog

Who writes your microcopy?

2013-05-21T17:17:01+00:00

You know those little bits of text that appear throughout your website that provide your visitors with feedback about actions they perform, such as the “thank you” message someone sees after submitting a contact form? That’s called microcopy. Microcopy also includes instructional text that explains more about a particular feature on your site, like the phrase “Sign up for our weekly newsletter!” above a subscription form.

Chances are, your site is full of microcopy, but how much thought have you put into writing it? Too often, microcopy is overlooked and this responsibility is left to the Web developer who builds the site. This is problematic for two reasons:

You’re probably not paying your Web developer to write content for your site, so he shouldn’t be left with this task. Microcopy should be written by your copywriter, or whomever is responsible for writing your site’s content.
Microcopy is part of your messaging. It should be written in a voice that aligns with your site’s persona and so should be included in the content writing process.

Consider these two form submission confirmation notices:

“Thank you for your submission. Someone from our staff will connect with you shortly.”
“Sweet! We’ll be in touch!”

One has a formal tone, the other, a casual one. Both may be suitable for a website, but probably not the same website. If your contact form is soliciting stories about your audience’s struggles living with a medical condition of some kind, a casual response may not be the most appropriate one. The tone of these messages should match the tone of the rest of your content, messaging, and site design.

It’s easy to overlook microcopy — it’s not top-of-mind when it comes to writing content since it’s beyond the scope of the message your organization is promoting. The truth is, microcopy is just as noticeable as anything else on your site, perhaps even more so, since it often appears as a response to user input and therefore draws attention.

Microcopy is another way you communicate with your audience - Take ownership of it!

Don’t use the phrase “Coming soon”

2011-08-15T20:00:57+00:00

In this audio post I explain why you shouldn’t use the phrase “coming soon” in lieu of real content and what you can do instead.

Why I don’t use the Structure module

2011-06-06T20:49:46+00:00

While clients and potential clients are welcome to read this Blog entry, it is primarily aimed at Web developers familiar with ExpressionEngine, so it gets a little technical.

There seems to be a lot of debate within the ExpressionEngine community about whether to use the Structure module by Travis Schmeisser and Jack McDade. Some believe that it makes content management simpler for end-users because it organizes content in the control panel in a list of nested pages. I’ve built some sites using Structure and although I’ve always received top-notch support from Travis, I’ve concluded that it’s not for me. This post explains why.

Problems I’ve encountered with Structure

The last time I used Structure, it only allowed for two levels of depth in the navigation tag. This became a real problem once my client decided - after the site had been built on Structure - that she required three levels of depth in some sections.
Structure also didn’t allow for multilingual design. I often work with Canadian non-profits who need their sites to be fully bilingual, but Structure’s navigation menu tag uses the titles of entries to label the menu links to those entries. So it didn’t matter that I’d created a custom field to hold the French title for an entry; Structure wouldn’t let me use it in the navigation.
This also means that my menu links had to be labelled the same as their corresponding entries. Most of the time this is standard procedure, but non-profits often have elaborate but official event names like “The 2011 Annual Professional Conference and General Meeting.” Despite this, they usually want the link to be labelled something more succinct and recognizable like “Conference.” With the Structure module however, the entry and the link to it must be the same.
I sometimes like to link to a page from two sections of the site. The only way to do this with Structure is to create a false entry whose only purpose is to launch a template that contains nothing but redirect code that sends the visitor to the true entry. Imagine how confused a client would be if she opened up the false entry thinking it was the real one only to find a blank publish form!

The real problem

Granted, many of these particular issues may have since been resolved in subsequent Structure updates [EDIT: Indeed some have, as Jack explains in the comments] but the real problem was a realization that I had upon encountering those ones: Structure is a commitment. If I invest in the Structure module to organize my content, there’s no turning back. If I encounter a roadblock during development and decide to abandon the module, I’ll need to completely re-code my templates and re-train my client on how to manage content.

Let ExpressionEngine be ExpressionEngine

Another gripe I have with Structure is that it undoes a lot of what I like about ExpressionEngine. Structure’s philosophy holds that even within the control panel, your site content is a collection of pages. Sure, this may be familiar to clients since they already see the front-end of their site as such, but I would argue that that’s a problem in itself. In suggesting that a site’s content is a collection of pages, you reinforce the idea that content resides in one place and not in another, like the pages in a book. If a character dies on page 200, he does not also die on page 50.*

I’ve seen clients get confused by the listings vs. pages thing and add listing entries as child-pages:

When you consider that they understand their content to be a collection of pages, it’s not surprising that they would do that.

Besides, there are plenty of CMSs that display content in the control panel in a page-tree format. If I wanted that, I’d use one of those options.

I prefer to teach my clients a philosophy that is at the core of ExpressionEngine: That a site is a made up of content, not pages. In ExpressionEngine 2, EllisLab wisely named content containers Channels, implying a stream of information without position. Some EE developers had previously - and inaccurately - suggested the term Sections, which implies location.

On the Web, something can exist in several places at once. When you add a News entry, you’re not creating a page, you’re simply adding that content. Where it appears on the public-facing site depends on how we’ve designed it. It may appear in the News section, on the Home page, and in the footer of every page. The Structure module unravels this notion.

Alternatives

One real problem with EE that Structure attempts to address is that there is no easy way to allow non-technical clients to manage navigation menus. I am currently handling this with Booyant’s add-on NavEE. While it’s not perfect, it does what I want it to and nothing I don’t.

NavEE doesn’t hijack ExpressionEngine’s content management architecture. I can still teach my clients to add content using the appropriate channels. NavEE just lets them create links to that content. And since it only recognizes entries that use EE’s native Pages module, there’s little danger of them confusing listing entries with pages.

Like Structure, NavEE displays its content in a nested list, but in this case it’s appropriate since the display reflects the front-end navigation menu itself and not the back-end content. Using NavEE, I haven’t experienced any of the problems I’ve encountered with Structure as mentioned earlier.

NavEE is also an add-on in the true sense of the term: it is added on to the CMS, and thus can easily be removed if needed. If I decide NavEE is not the right solution, I can relatively painlessly extract it from my site and go in another direction.

Conclusion

Whatever technique you use to manage content and navigation on your ExpressionEngine sites, it’s good to know that there are great add-on developers out there like Travis, Jack, and Mike who are working to make EE better, and I’m grateful for that.

* Zombies excluded.

Spice up your content with attention-getters

2011-02-08T14:55:58+00:00

I have an account with Groupon, an online deals site. Everyday there’s a new deal from a local business or service provider. I subscribe to their RSS feed so that I get notified of the deals regularly, and I noticed something they’ve started adding to the feed that has nothing to do with the deal of the day: Trivia.

Below the content about the latest deal was a paragraph that said “The Groupon Guide to: Reverse Engineering” along with a link to read more, which - of course - I clicked on. I was taken to their site, where the Groupon cat explains the topic.

It may seem silly that they added content like this to their site, until you consider that everyone who clicks that read more link is shown the latest deals and any other ads they have on their site. It’s one more way to lure visitors in and promote to them.

An added bonus is that Groupon comes off looking like a fun company that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and that kind of brand appreciation goes a long way.

Providing content that’s relevant to your audience should obviously be the priority on your site, but if you have the time and resources, consider adding attention-getting extra content along with it.

Your website is your brand online: Take it seriously

2010-11-23T14:57:16+00:00

Imagine walking into a restaurant. Inside, the building is clearly falling apart. The wallpaper is peeling off the walls, electrical wiring is exposed, there’s dust everywhere. You point this out to the manager, and the manager responds, “Oh, that?...Well…I’m in the food business, not construction, so ignore all that. Just sit down and order, and you’ll see how great we are!”

You’d leave, right?

Make sure you’re not using the restaurant manager’s logic regarding your website. Many organizations still see a website as something they know they need, but they’re not sure why. As a result, many just don’t take their websites seriously. Your website is your brand’s representation online; make sure you put as much thought into it as every other facet of your business.

I have a lot of friends who are musicians, and I’m always amazed at how readily they will use a site like MySpace, or an all-Flash site to represent them on the Web. You could argue that they are musical artists, not Web designers, so they put their creativity into their music, not into the appearance and functionality of their site. When I hear this argument, I think of the restaurant manager in my earlier analogy.

Is your organization’s site woefully outdated? Is it inaccessible to the disabled? Is it unusable on smart phones and mobile devices? is it full of irrelevant or inaccurate content?

Your website is many people’s first impression of you; they will associate it with your brand, so make it count.

Don’t worry about minimizing clicks

2010-10-28T16:09:57+00:00

Organizing content intuitively is more important than having all content accessible from the top level of navigation. I explain why in this audio post.

Do you have a strategy for re-engaging dormant supporters?

2010-10-12T12:00:15+00:00

You’re probably aware of the importance of engaging your audience. You’ve probably drawn in many of your customers through targeted campaigns and social media. But what do you do to keep those customers?

A 2009 study revealed that “50% of organizations’ online lists had 40% or more inactive supporters. Only 9% had a strategy for reactivating dormant supporters.” - Frogloop.com

I listen to a lot of podcasts. The leading vendor of audiobooks, Audible.com, wisely markets through podcasts to people like me who use mobile devices to listen to more than just music. What I’ve noticed about their ads is that their offer is always the same: Join Audible now and get your first audiobook download for free.

I’ve done this. I joined Audible, downloaded my first audiobook, and I haven’t been back. I’m not entirely sure why I haven’t been, but I wonder why Audible hasn’t done anything about it. I hear commercials for Audible.com at least once a day, but since their promotional offer doesn’t apply to me, it’s a wasted opportunity to lure me back.

Facebook is an example of a company that’s very interested in re-engaging users who have lost their way. They do this by enticing the friends of those inactive users to reconnect with them: write on their “wall”, post photos tagged with their names, and so on. Then those users would get an email saying, “Sally has posted a photo of you! Visit Facebook to see it!”

Your existing audience is at least as important as your potential audience. Don’t just work on gaining new supporters; nurture your relationship with your current ones.

Redesigning your website? Survey your audience first.

2010-09-07T12:00:21+00:00

Don’t forget to take advantage of social networking when undergoing a website redesign. Your audience would probably love to tell you what they think!

No new Web content? Post an archive of old content!

2010-08-03T15:53:17+00:00

Having trouble coming up with new content for your website? Why not remind your visitors of all your great but not-so-new content? In this Sound Advice audio post, I explain how you can keep your Web content fresh even when you have no new material.

Bad dog!: Web mistakes encountered in the pet industry

2010-07-13T15:45:19+00:00

We recently bought a puppy. He’s great.

In preparing for our new puppy’s arrival into our home, I did a lot of research on the Web: how to train a dog, supplies needed…all that stuff. In the course of doing this research, I was amazed at how many Web design and usability no-nos I encountered on pet-related sites. I’ll explore some of them in this post.

Requiring too much user information

If you have a pet - and even if you don’t - you’ve probably heard of The Dog Whisperer. His name is Cesar Millan, and he has a TV show where he rehabilitates dogs whose owners have seriously messed them up. Pretty impressive dog-training skills if he’s the real deal. But I can’t say the same for his website.

I visited Cesar Millan’s website, and noticed in the top-right corner a box where I could sign up for his newsletter. When I entered my email address and clicked what I thought was the ‘subscribe’ button, I was taken to another page that asked for even more information from me. It’s bad enough that I was tricked into thinking that I was subscribing when I just gave my email. Why do they require so much extra information just to send me a newsletter? There’s even a field for my cell phone number!

As a result of all this, I decided not to subscribe after all.

Restricted content

“Clicker Training” is the most effective animal training technique in use, and Karen Pryor made it popular in the canine world. I wanted to learn more about it, so I visited clickertraining.com. Unfortunately, in the ironically titled section “Learn”, I was only shown the first paragraph of every article, followed by the sentence “Full text available to registered users only.”

Restricted content is incredibly frustrating to visitors. Again, the fact that you need my personal information before you’ll let me read an article is suspicious: my personal information has nothing to do with your content; what do you plan to do with it?

And if this content is available to registered members only, why was I able to get to it through your main menu as if it’s regular content?

Coaxing me to register by offering extra content to members is one thing, but doing so by dangling only disjointed chunks of all your articles in front of me like carrots in front of a donkey? No thanks.

Choice paralysis

Dr. Ian Dunbar is one of the world’s most respected dog behaviorists. He’s written all kinds of books on the subject and even hosts a podcast. He decided to make what he claimed would be the “be-all-end-all” website for dog training, dogstardaily.com.

Dunbar’s goal of achieving this has caused a problem though: Choice paralysis. It’s been determined that if you provide users with too much choice, they’ll be less likely to choose anything. The number of options they can choose from simply becomes overwhelming.

On dogstardaily.com, I have no idea where to look. I don’t know what I should do first. There are 2,022 words on the Home page. Am I expected to read all that?? There is a navigation menu under the wordmark at the top, but it’s very easy to miss.

They seem to be aware of this problem somewhat, since they’ve added the always-embarrassing page, “How to use this site,” located in the equally problematic “Quicklinks” menu.

Distracting animation

I did manage to find a site with some truly useful information, but as I began to read the articles there, another problem manifested itself: distracting animation.

Dogtime.com has a sidebar on the left that contains a navigation menu. Unfortunately, it also contains a component called “Media Center”, which is essentially a looping video of a dog doing something cute. When I first checked it, I saw a litter of pug pups turning their heads in unison. At the time of this writing, I see two boxers on a treadmill. Like I said…cute.

I’m not there to see something cute. I’m trying to read your article. But I keep getting distracted by the movement going on in the corner of the screen. This is still common on many websites, often taking the form of Flash-based ‘flair’ animation that doesn’t really serve any purpose.

It was enough to make me lose interest in whatever potentially informative content they may have and leave.

Conclusion

On the Web, your reputation is proportional to quality of your site. In the physical world, you wouldn’t hire a clown to distract visitors from entering your store. You wouldn’t ask customers for their phone numbers as soon as they walk in. So why do it on your website?

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because your website is there, people will use it. Yours is one of millions of other websites they could be spending their valuable time on; you need to work hard to keep their attention.